Strip merchandisers

ABSTRACT

A strip merchandiser ( 40 ) for use with an automated loading mechanism as an elongate body portion ( 42 ) having a plurality of longitudinally spaced product mounting hooks ( 44 ) capable of being raised and lowered as the strip passes through the mechanism and a header portion ( 46 ) on the body portion ( 42 ), said header portion ( 46 ) having different characteristics to those of the body portion so that it cannot readily pass through the mechanism wherein the strip merchandiser ( 40 ) at or adjacent the intersection between the header portion ( 46 ) and the body portion ( 42 ) is provided with means ( 50 ) to allow the header portion to pass above the mechanism. Said means ( 50 ) here is a neck portion created by lateral cuts ( 52, 54 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to strip merchandisers. Strip merchandisers, alsoknown as clip-strips, generally comprise an elongate strip having meansthereon to carry multiples of product which can be suspended on or froma shelf or other retail display device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Strip merchandisers are becoming more widely used throughout the retailtrade to take advantage of cross-selling opportunities between productsand to create impulse purchases without using valuable shelf space.

Strip merchandisers such as these are widely known and are described innumerous US patents including U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,502 & U.S. Pat. No.4,546,943.

Increasingly the supplier is being required by the larger retailers,store chains, supermarkets and the like to supply products pre-loaded onstrip merchandisers or clip-strips. Strip merchandisers have beendesigned which can be readily pre-loaded prior to delivery to retailersby incorporating as the means to carry the product a plurality oflongitudinally spaced cuts in the elongate sheet material. The usualform of cut is a ‘w’ shape where the centre of the ‘w’ forms a hook onwhich product may be hung. Products can thus be attached to each hook sothat on arrival in the store the fully loaded strip can be simplyremoved from its outer packaging with say a dozen packs of productalready hanging from it.

This laden strip can then be placed immediately into its displayposition without any additional labour or merchandising effort by theemployees of the store. This generates additional sales at a lowerlabour or intervention cost. The merchandising labour cost iseffectively passed back, up the supply chain to the vendor who is ableto undertake the task in a theoretically more controlled, moreproductive, lower cost factory environment than a shop floor.

It will be seen that there is still an increase in overall costs andthat it is the manufacturer who has the additional labour cost infurther processing product in this way. To this end a number ofmechanisms and apparatus have been designed to automate the loadingprocess. Two of these are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,647,118 and6,195,877. Both of these are somewhat complex and provide for theloading of a continuous length of strip merchandiser material suppliedfrom a roll. Additionally such mechanisms are costly and have severaldisadvantages especially where precut lengths of strip are used.

Therefore, a simpler mechanism has been developed which involves a cogbeing turned by an electric motor, which cog opens the clips on thestrip merchandiser one at a time, to enable the product to be loadedonto the clip. This is achieved by the fingers on the cog pushing upagainst the central portion of the ‘w’ shaped hook each side of which isheld down by a metal holding plate. The rotating cog then pulls thestrip through between two metal plates to open the next clip positionfor loading. Due to the memory of the material used the ‘w’ shaped hooksnaps closed upon release thereby holding the product onto the stripmerchandiser during distribution and display.

Due to the varying demands of retailers it is sometimes required thatthe strip merchandiser be manufactured with a label holder section sothat a standard shelf edge label can be displayed with the productdisplayed. This is to provide the normal point of sale information, sucha name, price and the like unambiguously next to the products displayedon a particular strip merchandiser. Such a label holder may be providedby a series of opposed ‘v’ shaped cuts in a header portion of the stripmerchandiser between which a label can be inserted. In addition anadhesive mounting portion may be incorporated into the design so thatthe strip merchandiser can be simply attached and suspended from anysurface in the store suitable for the display of the product loadedthereon. An alternative to this would be the provision of a hole ornotch in the header portion for attachment to a hook or other suspensionmeans on a shelf or other display apparatus.

It is also the case that the market often requires a larger label holdersection in order to effectively present marketing messages or printedbranding. Consequently, the header portion is of a larger, usuallywider, dimension to that of the body portion of the strip merchandiser.The result of such strip merchandiser design variables is that the cogis constructed to open and close the central hook segment of the ‘w’shaped cut and thus due to the pitch or separation of the “fingers” onthe wheel that make up the cog the top portion of the strip merchandiserwill not fit through the mechanism resulting in that the loading of thestrip merchandiser cannot be undertaken semi-automatically using themachine and so creating increased assembly costs for the manufacturer.

It has been noted that one manufacturer has brought to the market astrip having a widened label holder section which incorporateslongitudinal fold lines in the line with the edges of the main bodyportion of strip merchandiser. This has a drawback in that the sidewings thus created on each individual strip merchandiser must bemanually folded to enable the strip merchandiser to pass through themechanism. This solution has a number of other disadvantages. Firstly,the wings need to be manually returned to the flat plane of the headerand do not always fold back totally flat resulting in a less thansatisfactory area on which the manufacturers brand cannot be neatlydisplayed. In addition this method does not readily incorporate theabove mentioned design for holding non-adhesive labels since the ‘v’cuts would be too weak to withstand weight loading.

Attempts have been made to develop a mechanism to take stripmerchandisers with these additional, functional sections whereby thepitch of the cog is increased to such an extent that the length of thestrip merchandiser has to be significantly increased to an extent whichis unviable based upon the increased material content.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention a stripmerchandiser for use with an automated loading mechanism of the typedescribed comprises an elongate body portion having a plurality oflongitudinally spaced product mounting hooks capable of being raised andlowered as the strip passes through the mechanism and a header portionon the body portion, said header portion having differentcharacteristics to those of the body portion so that it cannot readilypass through the mechanism characterized in that the strip merchandiserat or adjacent the intersection between the header portion and the bodyportion is provided with means to allow the header portion to pass abovethe mechanism.

It will be seen that the present invention has the result of enablingsuch strip merchandisers which have a header portion having a greaterwidth than the body portion and/or an adhesive section and/or means toattach a label to be successfully run through the machine withoutincreasing or amending the pitch of the cog or in creasing the spacingbetween the clips resulting in a longer, higher material content (moreexpensive) strip merchandiser. In use it a relatively simple task forthe header portion to be raised slightly to allow it to pass through themechanism. It is also possible to provide on the mechanism mechanicalmeans to lift the header portion in certain circumstances.

In one embodiment the means to allow the header portion to pass abovethe mechanism is provided by a section of reduced width at or adjacentthe intersection between the header portion and the body portion wherebya neck portion is created by simply providing a pair of opposed lateralcuts.

Said cuts may be provided by completely removing the material fromeither side of the neck portion or alternatively each cut may in theform of an incomplete ‘c’ wherein one leg of the ‘c’ does not continuethrough to the edge of the strip.

In another embodiment the neck portion, or that section of the stripintermediate the cuts, may be provided with means to encourage bendingof the neck. Such means may include the provision of transverse scoreline or crease or a series of perforations in the material which alsoencourage bending.

It will be seen by one skilled in the art that the use of transversescore lines and the like does not have a detrimental effect on theappearance and use of the strip merchandiser incorporating the presentinvention. The weight of a strip, whether loaded or not, is sufficientto straighten out the neck once the strip is hanging upon a display.

It is a further advantage of the present invention that when packingloaded strip in cartons for transport and delivery to retailers oversizeheader portions can be folded over thereby reducing the packed length ofthe strips resulting in more efficient use of space.

As can also be seen by one skilled in the art the present inventionallows any strip merchandiser with a label holder section of any size orconfiguration to be modified to pass across the holding plates thusenabling semi-automatic loading of virtually any configuration of stripmerchandiser given an understanding of the achievable pitch variables ofthe cog and its relationship to the hook spacing of the SM. A headerpanel of any size and shape will now be compatible with the machinewithout any adjustment being required to a standard loading machine.

According to a second aspect of the present invention a machine forloading product on strip merchandisers having a plurality oflongitudinally spaced hook portions and the like comprises a cogwheelrotatable by any convenient means and mounted between a pair of planarguide members whereby a strip merchandiser can be drawn under the guidemembers by rotation of the cogwheel through engagement with the hookportions, which engagement also acts to open each successive hook forloading characterized in that there is provided means to mechanicallylift a header portion (if present) of the strip merchandiser.

The cogwheel may be rotated manually but is preferably rotated by anelectric motor controlled by a pedal or other suitable means.

The means to mechanically lift the header portion may be provided by anyconvenient means such as a ramp or pair of ramps leading up to a pointabove the level of the plane of the guide members.

It will be seen by one skilled in the art that a strip merchandiser ofthe type described in accordance with the first aspect of the presentinvention having a header portion of a wider dimension that the bodyportion will be drawn through the loader in the usual manner until theedges of the header portion engage the lower end of the ramp or rampsand the header portion is raised up the ramp so that when it reaches theguide members it is held above said members so that the stripmerchandiser can proceed through the loader.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a section of strip merchandiser loadingmachine showing the mechanism for opening the hooks;

FIG. 2 is a plan of the machine of FIG. 1 showing the mechanism inoperation;

FIG. 3 is a plan of the upper portion of a strip merchandiser having alabel holder in the header portion and a neck portion in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 3 but shows a strip merchandiser having awide header portion and a ‘c’ cut and neck arrangement in accordancewith the invention;

FIG. 5 corresponds to FIG. 4 but shows a score line in the neck portionof the strip merchandiser;

FIG. 6 is an underneath plan of the upper portion of a stripmerchandiser having self adhesive strips on the header portion and a ‘c’cut and neck arrangement together with transverse perforations in theneck portion in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7 corresponds to FIG. 1 but shows a strip merchandiser loadingmachine incorporating means to mechanically raise the header portion ofa strip merchandiser in accordance with a second aspect of theinvention; and

FIG. 8 corresponds to FIG. 7 but shows a strip merchandiser with theheader portion duly raised.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings a machine 10 forloading strip merchandisers 12 (in FIG. 2) with product 14 comprises acasing 16 housing a motor (not shown) for operating a cogwheel 18 havingfingers 20 extending through an opening 22 in the top 24 of the casingand a pair of guide plates 26, 28 on each side of the cogwheel 18. Ascan be seen in FIG. 2 a strip merchandiser 12 is passed under the guideplates 26, 28 and a finger 30 a of the cogwheel 18 engages a ‘w’ shapedcut 32 in the strip merchandiser 12 so that the strip merchandiser isdrawn through the mechanism and at the same time the central portion ofthe ‘w’ shaped cut 32 forms a hook 34 and is lifted up and so thatproduct 14 may be attached. Once the ‘w’ shaped cut 32 has moved beyondthe cogwheel 18 the hook 34 returns to its original position and theproduct 14 is held firmly in place. Meanwhile the next finger 30 b ofthe cogwheel 18 engages the next and subsequent ‘w’ shaped cuts 32 untilall the hooks carry product.

FIG. 3 shows a strip merchandiser 40 in accordance with the inventioncomprising an elongate body portion 42 having a plurality oflongitudinally spaced product mounting hooks 44 and a header portion 46on the body portion, said header portion having slots or cuts 48 toreceive a label (not shown) and at the intersection between the headerportion and the body portion there is a neck portion 50 created bylateral cuts 52, 54 provided by completely removing the material fromeither side of the neck portion.

In FIG. 4 a strip merchandiser 60, generally of the type describedabove, has a header portion 62 of a width greater than the width of itsbody portion 64 and a neck portion 66 formed between cuts 68, 70 each inthe form of an incomplete ‘c’ wherein one leg 72, 74 of each ‘c’ doesnot continue through to the edge of the strip.

In FIG. 5 a strip merchandiser 80 similar to the strip merchandiser ofFIG. 4 is provided with a transverse score-line 82 across its neckportion 84 to promote bending.

In FIG. 6 a strip merchandiser 90 comprises an elongate body portion 92having a plurality of longitudinally spaced product mounting hooks 94and a header portion 96 on the body portion, said header portion havinga pair of self adhesive strips 98, 100 to facilitate attachment to ashelf or other display apparatus and a neck portion 102 between ‘c’shaped cuts 104, 106 of the type described above and a transverse lineof perforations 108 is provided across the neck portion 102 to promotebending.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a machine 110 for loading strip merchandisers112 with product 114 in accordance with a second aspect of the inventionwhich comprises a casing 116 housing a motor (not shown) for operating acogwheel 118 having fingers 120 extending through an opening 122 in thetop 124 of the casing and a pair of guide plates 126, 128 on each sideof the cogwheel 118. The machine 110 is further provided with a pair oframps 130, 132 leading up to a point above the level of the plane of theguide plates 126, 128.

In FIG. 8 the header portion 134 of the strip merchandiser 112 is raisedup as the edges 136, 138 thereof engage respective ramps 130, 132 sothat it passes over the guide pates 136, 138 as the strip merchandiserprogresses through the mechanism.

1. A strip merchandiser for use with an automated loading mechanism ofthe type described comprising an elongate body portion having aplurality of longitudinally spaced product mounting hooks capable ofbeing raised and lowered as the strip passes through the mechanism and aheader portion on the body portion, the header portion having differentcharacteristics to those of the body portion so that it cannot readilypass through the mechanism characterized in that the strip merchandiserat or adjacent the intersection between the header portion and the bodyportion is provided with means to allow the header portion to pass abovethe mechanism.
 2. A strip merchandiser as in claim 1 wherein the meansto allow the header portion to pass above the mechanism is provided by asection of reduced width at or adjacent the intersection between theheader portion and the body portion whereby a neck portion is created bysimply providing a pair of opposed lateral cuts.
 3. A strip merchandiseras in claim 2 wherein the cuts are provided by completely removing thematerial from either side of the neck portion.
 4. A strip merchandiseras in claim 2 wherein each cut is in the form of an incomplete ‘c’wherein one leg of the ‘c’ does not continue through to the edge of thestrip.
 5. A strip merchandiser as in claim 1 wherein the neck portion,or that section of the strip intermediate the cuts, is provided withmeans to encourage bending of the neck.
 6. A strip merchandiser as inclaim 5 wherein such means includes the provision of transverse scoreline or crease or a series of perforations in the material which alsoencourage bending.
 7. A machine for loading product on stripmerchandisers having a plurality of longitudinally spaced hook portionsand the like comprising a cogwheel rotatable by any convenient means andmounted between a pair of planar guide members whereby a stripmerchandiser can be drawn under the guide members by rotation of thecogwheel through engagement with the hook portions, which engagementalso acts to open each successive hook for loading characterized in thatthere is provided means to mechanically lift a header portion (ifpresent) of the strip merchandiser.
 8. A machine as in claim 7 whereinthe cogwheel is rotated manually.
 9. A machine as in claim 7 wherein thecogwheel is rotated by an electric motor controlled by a pedal or othersuitable means.
 10. A machine as in claim 7 wherein the means tomechanically lift the header portion is provided by any convenient meanssuch as a ramp or pair of ramps leading up to a point above the level ofthe plane of the guide members. 11-12. (canceled)